1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a receptacle connector, and more particular to a receptacle connector having a latch mechanism for securely and reliably connecting the receptacle connector to a mating plug connector.
2. The Related Art
Electrical connectors are widely applied in electrical connection systems. A reliable connection between a pair of mated electrical connectors is crucial to the system; otherwise electrical interruption may be frequently caused. To obtain a reliable connection, more and more connectors are designed to have latch mechanisms.
A conventional receptacle connector 300 as shown in FIG. 7 includes an insulating housing 11, a plurality of contacts 12 received in the insulating housing 11, and two-layered covers 13 and 14 enclosing the insulating housing 11. The inner cover 13 defines a plurality of elastic slices 131, and the outer cover 14 forms a plurality of apertures 141 corresponding to the elastic slices 131 of the inner cover 13. In assembling with a mating plug connector, free ends of the elastic slices 131 are biased in the apertures 141 respectively, therefore providing elastic engaging forces to latch the mating plug connector.
The engaging forces of the receptacle connector 300 as described above are achieved by adding the outer cover 14. However, on one hand, the added outer cover 14 increases cost of the receptacle connector 300. On the other hand, the engaging forces achieved by the elastic slices 131 and the apertures 141 structured as above are not strong enough to obtain a reliable connection between the receptacle connector 300 and the plug connector.